Scans of Old Photos

I was delighted to come across these amazing high quality photographs of Balintore Castle recently. They are already proving invaluable for the current restoration. 

It looks like the images are very old. There is some efflorescence of the lime below the oriel window but the remainder of the mortar and certainly the gravel paths look "sharp". Given a little time has passed since construction in 1860, I would put the photos between 1870 and 1900

west elevation

 The west elevation image above reveals the missing urns from the entrance door to be still in place. It shows a balustraded rail to the immediate left of the door which is also no longer there. I understand the balusters are in use as garden ornaments all over the surrounding area. :-) Currently there is poor quality grass/mud to the front of the castle, but the rather hard texture suggests there might once have been gravel there. The photograph confirms this, and shows how to put things back as they were originally.

west elevation detail : main entrance door

What particularly grabbed my attention in the above detail of the main entrance, is the marvellous door furniture: a lion's head bell pull and an unusual square brass handle. Someone once described the handle to me as "squarish and like nothing I've seen before" so it has clearly been there in living memory. However, I was not expecting the handle to be quite so plain and un-ornamented. In fact to my eye, the placement of the handle's back plate ( 9" wide × 7 ½ " high) is not quite aesthetic. I am currently investigating getting a replacement back plate made.

west elevation

The west elevation above shows garden paths (now missing); a stone staircase to the north (now missing) and an intact oriel window (now collapsed).

Thanks to Catherine MacIntyre for scanning these in.

Nay, Nay and Thrice Nay

it's official !  (image courtesy of Catherine MacIntyre)

I have just returned from today’s meeting of the Developments Standards Committee
of Angus Council in Forfar. The Councillors voted to either approve or reject the planning department’s recommendation that the Carrach Wind Farm should be constructed next to Balintore Castle.

There were 3 votes for the motion (accept the recommendation) and 9 votes for the amendment (reject the recommendation). In other words, this third attempt to place a wind farm next to the castle has failed. Hurrah!

The vote could have gone either way and at one stage during the meeting I seriously thought the vote was going to go against us. This third planning application is considerably scaled down from the second, and involves 2 shorter turbines instead of 9 taller ones, so I thought the outcome would be at least more in favour of the wind farm than the previous committee meeting where the recommended second application was rejected 2 years ago.

view from Balintore Castle of two wind turbine development recommended by Council

In fact, the margin of victory was even larger than last time and reflects the clear message that emerged at the meeting that the community were against the development (60 letters against, 6 letters for). The community council was against the development. There are also around 100 members of the STOP THE CARRACH WINDFARM Facebook group. A number of Councillors stood up to say they had to reflect the wishes of their constituents. However, a number of Councillors also spoke strongly in favour of the windfarm, so until the vote itself there was no inkling of what the outcome would be.

6 objectors spoke first with a 5 minute slot each. This was followed by a single supporter, who unsurprisingly was the developer! I was second in the objector running order. My main point was that whether there are 2 turbines or 9, it does not matter, the setting of Balintore Castle is still destroyed. I also highlighted the Scottish Government reporter’s conclusion that no wind farms should ever be built on this very special site.

One of the pro Councillors insisted that 2 turbines of half the height would only have one-eighth the impact of 9 taller ones, and that this equated to 0.125 %. :-) If this had been a public meeting, I would have jumped up immediately and pointed out that he was a factor of 100 out. As it was, I permitted myself a smile of wry amusement in a day that was stressfully serious.

I would like to thank everyone who spoke at the meeting in defense of the Quharity Glen; everyone that turned up to show their support; the Councillors who saw reason; and indeed everyone who has been campaigning behind the scenes. The other speakers were much more briefed on their facts than I and were able to give a precise chapter and verse account of where the development breached guidelines. This precise attention to documentation is the way the system operates, and rightly so. For my part, my emotions ran so high regarding the ongoing struggle/war to save Balintore Castle that I could only tell the story from my point of view: that a gross travesty was going to be committed against an A-listed building and that I felt it was wrong, at the very least, that the Council were recommending such a course of action.

I like to construct “thought experiments” to determine the morality of any situation. If Balintore Castle were Balmoral Castle or if I were John Betjeman, then the wind farm would never have got a look in. Is this right or wrong?

As I left the chair after speaking, I almost broke down in tears. Again, after the result of the voting was announced I almost broke down again. Emotional stress always tends to manifest itself after the strain has been removed. The odd thing about a burden being removed is that you do not feel immediately joyful afterwards, because you start to appreciate the weight of the burden that you were under but tried to under-play. I definitely feel "lighter", and the residents of the glen have agreed to find a way to celebrate properly in due course. :-)

Will the developer appeal against the decision again? In the light of what the glen has been through, one can never say “never”, especially in the light of the Council recommending a wind farm for approval even after the Government had said a categorical "no". If you want to help guard against wind farms being put in this beautiful area, there is a petition being run by the local community and it may be signed at the local Farm/Craft Shop - Peel Farm.

Castles Home and Away: Part Five

Dunstaffnage Castle east elevation

Dunstaffnage Castle north elevation

Dunstaffnage Castle south elevation

Dunstaffnage Castle (13th Century) was the most historically significant building visited on my mini-tour of the West Highland coastal castles earlier in the year. It is also one of the very oldest stone castles in Scotland. Unlike the other ruins visited, Dunstaffnage is a "paid attraction", so Andrew and I could explore in safety and without gymnastics. The wall walks give a great high level overview of the castle and how it fits into the landscape. Its location is extraordinary, perched upon an outcrop of rock that seems to emerge from a area of flat ground seemingly from no-where. Andrew was mesmerised by the unexpectedness of this geological marvel. I was more unimpressed "Well that's why they would have built the castle here!".

wall walk panorama 1

wall walk panorama 2

wall walk panorama 3

It was also the most easy building to understand and read, not just from the signage but the extant structure: though we discovered the small exhibition room only after we had done the exploring rather than before. Definitely the wrong way round.

The building is located at the far end of a modern industrial estate: a decidedly unprepossessing approach. Surely we had taken a wrong turning? But once you reach the considerable and attractive grounds of the castle, the magnificent setting of the building, in a natural harbour facing a modern marina, becomes quite apparent.

The rocky outcrop on which the castle was perched, and which entranced Andrew, was clearly some kind of conglomerate rock with rounded boulders and pebbles in a matrix, that was gently eroding.

From the other buildings visited it was clear Dunstaffnage had been pivotal to the history of the area, it was the major fortified building and there were connections with royalty as well as the major clans of the area.

Of the buildings visited, it was the most "Game of Thrones" as with a little imagination you could envisage the complete life of the castle going on around you. At its 15th Century peak, the building had looked stunning with 4 major circular defensive towers round the perimeter. Parts of these towers still exist but not to their former heights, and one had been turned into a 17th Century laird's tower: a significant feature of the building nowadays but not a patch on the 15th Century look and feel. If you wanted a mediaeval castle with full military works this would be the one.

Being a paid tourist attraction somehow tames a building, and I have a preference for the more untamed buildings in the more untamed landscapes. It is, however, definitely worth a visit for its historic significance, and to see a relatively complete "canonical" building of its period against which to just others.

There is a 13th Century Dunstaffnage Chapel in the grounds that Andrew and I almost missed - assuming some extant arches near the castle has been the chapel. Don't be fooled. The actual chapel is quite a walk from the castle, several hundred yards away, and is now to be found hidden in some woods. The construction of the castle and the chapel looks contemporaneous as the same type of Gothic windows in the chapel are to be found in lower parts of the castle walls - perhaps a great hall? What is clear is that Gothic windows in a Scottish building of this date reveal a very classy building indeed.

If you think "Game of Thrones" exaggerates blood-spattering at nuptials, I suggest you read the history of the Dunstaffnage Chapel and about one infamous wedding there.

Dunstaffnage Chapel interior

Dunstaffnage Chapel exterior detail

the well Dunstaffage Castle

Castles Home and Away: Part Four

The most beautiful setting of all the West Highland coast castles visited on our mini-tour was Castle Tioram, dating from the 13th century. I have a penchant for the very old, and like other castles from this period in the area it is largely defined by a stark defensive curtain wall. It is situated on a tidal island, and nestles in a landscape of water, forests and hills. 

As Andrew and I approached along a road that couldn't have been more "minor" if it tried, it was clear we were in an area of outstanding natural beauty though somewhat more sheltered and soft than the unforgiving landscape of the coast beyond. The island had two natural beaches: one sandy and one rocky. Andrew and I climbed all over the island to take in all the angles. The approach form the water would have been particularly impressive, with the castle and a tricky cliff path looming high overhead.

Sadly the building is in a considerable state of disrepair and the entrance was barred from safety considerations. The rock on which the castle is perched is splitting, and over the centuries huge portions have fallen onto the beach. It won't be too long, if left unattended, that sections of the castle itself will come down in future rock falls. Infamously, Historic Scotland, refused Scheduled Monument Consent for the owner's plan to save and develop the building. This is regarded generally as a sorry chapter for Historic Scotland. I have not seen the plans myself to form a judgement, but it was definitely a lost opportunity. This building needs help yesterday for it to survive in any form into the future.

Andrew and I jokingly called the building "Castle Tearoom", as he is partial to tea and scones in country houses, and ironically this building is the very opposite of a developed attraction. We had to pick our way across mud flats to access the building and got rather wet in the process. Exploring the island involved a lot of undignified scrambling: in fact one of the panoramas caught the split-second before Andrew slipped flat on his face.

The building has a powerful presence and for a castle that was simply on our route home, it has now become one of my favourites. 

Castle Tioram's pentagonal curtain wall

the interior - taken through the grill at the entrance

the castle is on the tidal island on the right

view around Tioram

view around Toiram - Andrew fell flat on his face just after this was taken

Tioram panorama from the top of the island

Tioram panorama - starts at 45 degrees to horizon to capture most interesting silhouette

Tioram panorama

vertical Tioram panorama from beach

Castles Home and Away: Part Three

The ruins of Kilchurn Castle (dating from the early 15th century) on the banks of Loch Awe is one of the iconic images of Scotland. It turned out that Kilchurn was on our route to Castle Stalker, so I was able to see one of my favourite castles in the flesh for the first time. Kilchurn in reality is impressive and far larger than the photos suggest, but it is no longer one of my favourite castles for rather complex reasons that I'll conclude on!

Andrew and I failed to find Kilchurn initially, but bumped into some American tourists at St. Conan's Chapel who had already been and were able to give us directions. No wonder we missed it, it is not sign-posted at all and is only visible from the road in fleeting glimpses if you know what you are looking for. Historic Scotland should do better than this: it is an international tourist attraction and a worthy one at that.

The approach is a rather long walk on a single path crossing marsh-land. The defensive advantage is clear. I was determined not to take photos as the building is incredibly photogenic, and others have taken pictures a million times better than my smart phone snaps would ever be. However, I did take some panoramas and angles, just to fix the building and landscape in my memory. The castle in its landscape seems to suit the panorama, and I was delighted by the moody effects achieved with little effort and cheap technology. The broken ruined skyline of Kilchurn is so beautiful,  it was the only castle I thought should not be restored. 

Now having visited, I feel I was wrong. Accommodation inside the building should be restored, there are vast internal spaces which could be brought back to life at the lower levels without disturbing the skyline. On the day I visited, the upper part of the keep's interior was closed off due to health and safety, so we missed the views from the castle and the majority of the keep's accommodation. This is typical of the disappointment on visiting most Scottish castles - there are ruined walls a plenty, but few interior spaces, and those that do exist are not floored or furnished. So the typical tourist gets an impoverished feel for the building as it was. Reusing parts of the building would make it a much more positive experience, and in no way destroy the romance of a ruin. Kilchurn is not the small quaint building I thought it was, it is a vast palace of sufficient scale that it does not suit the ruination in the same way that a smaller scale castle could.

Loch Awe: looking east

Loch Awe: looking west

Andrew: looking down

me: looking down

west elevation

north elevation

east elevation - leaving the castle behind us

the building is bigger than you might think!

Castles Home and Away: Part Two

The building that delighted me the most during my two day mini-tour of the castles of the West Highland coast was Castle Stalker which dates from 1320. It was not the largest or the most impressive or indeed the most historically significant building, yet all the elements were right. It had been restored over the course of ten years from around 1965 by a family, who are still using it as a holiday home, and it was the one building I visited that was living again. This is the key to me, a building not in use is without soul, and anyone who visits Castle Stalker cannot fail to pick up on the magic embracing atmosphere of its inviting interior spaces.

Part of this seductive invitation is the remarkable location of the building: a small rather stark island, not much larger than the footprint of the castle itself. Indeed such is the picturesque charm of this castle on an island in Loch Laich, that it is a well known image to be found on many a calendar and greetings card.

picturesque Castle Stalker on the dull day we visited

Ironically, from the castle itself, the view does not live up to those from the other buildings visited. The hills round the loch are rather low - far from the spectacular highland scenery one might expect. And on the rather dreich day we visited, the grey water merged into the grey hills moodily smudged together by the mist. 

view from the Castle Stalker

The point, however, is the splendiferous isolation afforded by the castle. The building cradles you in its cocoon, and for the outside world to get to you, it has to take a trip by boat. The owner stressed the difficulty of getting the shopping in, during stormy weather, but frankly I though how marvellous and would personally lay down stores to outlast any siege the outside world would want to impose.

embarking on the voyage to  the castle

approaching the castle

Andrew disembarking - disproportionately delighted to have survived the short crossing

The restorers were a Surrey solicitor Lt. Col. D. R. Stewart Allward, his wife Marion and their friends and family. Lt. Col. Allward's ambitions were to own a Rolls Royce, have four children and own a castle in Scotland. All ambitions were achieved! The current owner is a son, and his parents have their ashes built into the fabric of Castle Stalker, which gives some idea of the emotional attachment. I wasn't sure if I had heard this correctly and was going to ask, then realised it might sound insensitive if I had got things wrong. However, Andrew heard exactly the same thing. The current owner spent his summer holidays as a child, restoring Castle Stalker with his parents so his connection with the building is a very special one indeed.

Although the family do clearly make use of the building as a holiday home, there was a tacit admission that it was underused and I couldn’t help feeling that people would pay for the privilege of staying there. For me the boat trip over was not onerous but part of the adventure. My personal enthusiasm is not without royal precedent. Castle Stalker had been used by King James IV as a hunting lodge, with an adjacent island boasting the largest deer and a nearby river pouring forth the largest salmon. An outcrop of rock we passed in the boat had been known for at least 600 years as Cormorant Island, and sure enough there was a cormorant perched there. Human history and nature's history are intimately entwined.

The owner mentioned that the family had free rein with the restoration with no input from Historic Scotland or the local Council whatsoever. I wished I had taken on a building in that era - the thing that is slowing the restoration of Balintore down the most is the bureaucracy. And I have to say that there was nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with the restoration of Castle Stalker - everything that had been done is true to the building. In fact, the modern plumbing  and modern wiring were visible snaking across the historic fabric of the building so the existing structure was in plain view. In fact, the whole ethos of the work done was the beloved reversibility of modern restoration practice.

From some interior photos I saw before my visit, I was concerned that the inside may have had too much of a taint of the 70’s. However, in the flesh my concerns proved unfounded. The pieces of furniture in the castle were indeed bespoke products of the 70’s - but these were executed with great craftsmanship, and were in perfect keeping with the building. Above all I was delighted that no interior designer had been allowed anywhere near Castle Stalker! It had been furnished by the owners with care and love as a home, and it was in no sense a “stage set” of the type that would adorn a country living lifestyle magazine.

the homely and home-spun great hall - note massive Hemlock ceiling beams

armoury in great hall:  reproductions of historic Scottish weapons and targes (shields)

Above the fireplace in the sitting room was a marvellous and massive carved oak beam. It was too large/heavy to take over by boat so the consensus was that being wood it would float and could be towed across to the castle. It sank like a stone, and had to be dragged along the sea bottom. The fireplace jamb/leg on the left is original and is intricately carved. However, the wear is such, that it is impossible to decipher what the carvings were once of. My eye wove dragons in there! :-) There are rumours, if memory serves, of American soldiers taking the right jamb during WWII.

massive over-mantle beam in sitting room - the left fireplace jamb is original

The transport of the massive Canadian Hemlock beams, used to rebuild the floors, was more successful. These did float!

Castle Stalker was famously used in the filming of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and the owner had happy memories of playing one of the soldiers. We had to guess which soldier he was in a still from the film. I got it down successfully to a choice of two. :-)

Castle Stalker is not generally open to the public. A small number of tours are made available during the summer months, so gaining access is quite a privilege. This privilege feels all the more special as the owner takes you over in his boat. The “crew” are clearly good friends of the owner, and they were just learning to handle the new dual-hulled boat. Much hilarity ensued. The new boat is rather swish, and has a shallow enough draft to enable relatively easy embarking and disembarking.

The only visitors who showed up on the tour were an American couple, Andrew and myself - so we had a much more personalised tour than standard. The Castle Stalker tour is quite simply a "must see".

thanks go to the current owner for his marvellous tour

this sign amused 

spiral staircase to the battlements

Castles Home and Away: Part One

A few weeks back, Andrew and I went on a two day road trip to the West Highlands to catch one of the rare open days at Castle Stalker. This is the iconic castle on an island in a loch which features in the "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" film and on shortbread tins with a frequency second only to Eilean Donan Castle. 

Castle Stalker was restored in the 1960's/1970's with everything having to be brought over by boat, so seeing the end result was a planned morale booster for endeavours at Balintore Castle. The rule of the road trip was that we could spontaneously follow up on any brown sign (i.e. place of interest) that we saw en route.

As we were driving along Loch Awe, a building suddenly appeared on the left-hand side that I knew only from photographs. "Let's stop here!" I cried. I had no idea that the quirkily glorious St. Conan's Kirk was in the vicinity. The visit was a wish that was inadvertently granted.

rear panorama

Andrew did not like St. Conan's Kirk. It is an architectural mish-mash of styles, with everything from Celtic, through Norman to Gothic - even some Moderne. We tried hard to pin-point the date - some elements seemed Victorian but others looked 1920's. In the end we were completely flummoxed.

front panorama

Later research showed why: the building phase extended between 1881 to roughly 1930. The architect Walter Campbell (died 1914) was from the local aristocracy. This was the only building he designed, and it is fair to say he did not adhere to any stylistic orthodoxy. 

Andrew finds comfort at the reassuringly Norman altar

Critics may say the building is a pastiche or simply stylistically incongruous. My own take is that Walter Campbell, simply borrowed aspects of various styles he liked, as well making-up his own style. He clearly loved buildings so much, that he created his own celebration of architecture here. He pulled granite boulders off the hill above the kirk, and simply cemented them together to form rough-hewn columns that I have seen no-where else. A Caledonian Gaudi?

window from Iona Abbey - kirk also (allegedly) has bones from Robert the Bruce

As the style of the building is impossible to place, it engenders an other-worldly quality in the same way as the sets of "Game of Thrones". The look is somehow familiar, and thus feels real, but at the same time it is alien and thus not identifiable.

mini cloister is very "Game of Thrones"

I would say that while some detailing is ugly/crude, most gives delight. The craftsmanship is of generally high quality, and the whole is a work of integrity and passion. There is no reason why a building should adhere to rules, and when mavericks appear who are brave enough to plough their own furrow, we should find out what they can offer, rather than identify the rules they are breaking.

ugly or maverick glory? - the triangular windows are certainly unique

I was determined not to take photographs on the tour but to experience things for real instead. So while I did not have the time, inclination or a good enough camera  to document things, the panorama function on my smart phone was a useful way of capturing the mood of a place. More panoramas of other sites of interest will follow.